Granit Xhaka — watch collection

About Granit Xhaka’s watch collection

Granit Xhaka is a Swiss professional footballer and one of the most recognizable midfielders in European football over the past decade. Born in Basel in 1992, he came through the youth ranks at FC Basel before moving to Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he established himself as one of the Bundesliga's most composed and technically capable central midfielders. Arsenal signed him in 2016, and despite a turbulent period that included a very public falling out with the club's supporters, he rebuilt his standing at the Emirates before completing a move to Bayer Leverkusen in 2023 — where he captained the side to a historic unbeaten Bundesliga title in the 2023-24 season. He has also been a long-serving captain of the Swiss national team, accumulating over 120 caps.

The Granit Xhaka watch collection, based on sightings logged in our database, leans toward the upper end of the Rolex sports range. He has been photographed wearing the Rolex GMT-Master II reference 116718LN — a version built entirely in 18k yellow gold with a black monochromatic Cerachrom ceramic bezel. This is not an entry-level Rolex choice; the 116718LN sits at the premium end of the GMT-Master II family, powered by the Calibre 3186 movement with a Parachrom hairspring and COSC chronometer certification. The all-gold configuration makes it a heavier, more deliberate choice compared to the steel or two-tone variants that are far more commonly spotted on footballers.

The choice of a full yellow gold GMT-Master II says something concrete about where Xhaka's taste sits. He is not reaching for the most fashionable or heavily marketed reference — the black-bezel gold GMT is a long-established configuration that has been in the Rolex catalogue for years and carries weight with collectors. For a footballer of his profile, it reflects a preference for substance over novelty.